Convert AutoCAD drawings to PDF in four steps
- Add the drawings. Drop the .dwg files on the converter, or use Add Files or Add Folder. AutoCAD LT drawings are the same file type and work the same way.
- Tick the layouts. Every layout is listed with a preview. Tick the ones to convert, and drag them into the order you want in the PDF.
- Choose paper, color and output. The paper size is taken from each layout when the drawing recognises one, or you pick a sheet size. Black and white is the default; color and grayscale are there too. Choose one PDF for everything, one per drawing, or one per layout.
- Convert, check, download. Open the preview in a new tab to check the result, then download the PDF, or several together as a ZIP.
How AutoCAD makes a PDF itself
Inside AutoCAD there are three routes. EXPORTPDF writes a PDF from a single layout, from all layouts, or from an area of model space. PUBLISH can send selected layouts, or the layouts of several drawings, to one multi-sheet PDF. The PLOT command with the DWG To PDF plotter makes one sheet at a time. Autodesk documents all three in the AutoCAD help.
They all need AutoCAD installed and licensed on the computer that makes the PDF.
When this converter is the quicker way
When the computer in front of you has no AutoCAD: a client's laptop, a site office, a colleague's machine. You drop the drawing in and have a PDF a minute later.
When you have a pile of drawings: all layouts of all files are listed with previews, so you tick what you need, drag the order, and get one PDF with a bookmark per sheet instead of opening every file.
What to check in the result
Lettering. Drawings often use fonts that ship with AutoCAD. If one is missing here, a similar font is used and the page lists which ones. Add the original font files (SHX or TrueType) and the lettering matches; they stay in your browser.
Line weights. They are off by default, because the weights stored in a drawing can make a PDF look heavy. Switch them on when you want the weights the drawing was set up with.
Open the preview before you send the PDF on. If a drawing does not convert or looks wrong, send it to us from the support page and we will look at it.
Layers and text stay usable
The PDF keeps the drawing's layers as PDF layers you can switch off in a PDF reader, and the text can be searched and copied.
Questions
- Do I need AutoCAD to convert AutoCAD files to PDF?
- Not with this converter. It reads DWG files itself, on any computer with a current browser.
- Is the PDF vector or a picture?
- Vector. Lines, arcs and text are written as shapes, so you can zoom far into the PDF and the lines stay sharp.
- Can I put all the layouts of a drawing into one PDF?
- Yes. Tick the layouts, drag them into order and choose one PDF for all files. Each sheet gets a bookmark you can rename.
- Can I use it for AutoCAD LT drawings?
- Yes. LT and full AutoCAD save the same DWG file type.
- What about plot style tables (CTB)?
- This page plots black and white, color or grayscale. Applying your own CTB files, per drawing or per range, is part of Dwg2Pdf for Windows.
- Is my drawing uploaded?
- No. The conversion runs in your browser, on your own computer.